What do you think about an inflatable kayak?

[littlestbird]

I am giving up the sit-on-top Torent, hoping to find an alternative that I can lift and load by myself, a woman (140 lbs), not a weight lifter. Can they handle white water and flat?

[okieboater]

Don't know that much about flat water, but a class 4/5 kayaking bud of mine had big time leg issues and went to one of the Aire hi performance IK boats. He put in extra thigh straps etc to lock himself in.

Down in Costa Rica He went every where the hard shell kayakers did and was doing it in style.

I like the Aire IK's with the sharp bow and stern lines, If I were buying a IK.

[Crane]

My wife paddles both a whitewater creekboat (Micro 240)and an inflatable (Tributary Strike), depending on what she has in mind on any particular trip. She is near your size, and is able to handle both boats without assistance, though when I'm around I pitch in:) Her inflatable weighs about 37 pounds. Her creekboat weighs a little over 40 pounds. The weight difference is not worth basing a decision upon...

The question you might ask first is "what kind of paddling do I really think I might end up enjoying?" (all kinds:)) My bride can take her inflatable on more serious water than she is comfortable paddling her creekboat on... but, the creekboat handles milder moving water better than the inflatable... The creekboat is more manuverable, the inflatable more stable and forgiving... both are good. Neither are particularly good on flatwater... because they are both designed for moving water's needs. If she wanted to paddle flatwater, we'd pick an altogether different boat designed for flatwater.

Ecconomically, you can probably purchase a kayak cheaper than an inflatable... simply because kayak designs change frequently & yakkers change boats with frequency, leaving a continuous supply of reasonably used boats in the $350 to $600 range. If you buy one of those and do not like it, you probably will be able to get most of your money back out of it... unless you buy something really odd. Inflatables, however, are a smaller part of the market and do not seem to be offered for sale very often... Thus, it would be difficult to find a good, used inflatable without searching a little. A new inflatable can be purchased for as little as $500, but I'm not confident those lower-end IKs would satisfy you for very long, since they seem to be wider and harder to manuver than the more expensive IKs. My bride's Strike cost about $900 new. It is significantly more responsive than the cheaper IKs. Still better, maybe best, is the Aire Force, which paddles like a kayak and has enough length not to bog down on pools... but, the Force costs in the $1200 range...

If money is no object, buy both! If it is a concern, borrow a reasonable kayak and gear and take the boat to paddling school. After a weekend of lessons, you'll be better able to make a decision on whether you cwant to go to a kayak... If you will pm us, my bride and I will bring her inflatable to canoe school and you can check it out, too! Crane

[AR-Nimrod]

My daughter is about your weight also. We bought her a Jackson All Water 9 last year. It's a crossover boat with a retractable skeg so it handles moving water to Class III (according to Jackson website) and with the skeg down it tracks well on flat water. It weighs 39 or 40 pounds. While no longer made this boat might be a good option to consider. I've seen them used on ebay and other sites.

[MikkiW]

I have 2 inflatables. A Sevylor one man canoe and a Sea Eagle 340X Pro. I do not like the Sevylor as well because the inflatable floor has a beachball valve that makes it hard to inflate and deflate. The Sea Eagle is a great inflatable. I use it in the wintertime in the back water of the White River refuge which is close to my home. It manuvers well in flooded timber and is easy to paddle. It has an attachable skeg which helps it track well. The external shell is 1000 denier material which is VERY resistant to puncture. I saw several people on the Ocoee river last year in them. They are rated for Class IV rapids. What I really like about this inflatable is the fact you can deflate it, fold it up and put it on the back rack of a 4 wheeler and paddle off road lakes that are usually inaccessible any other way. VERY stable on the water, great for a beginner. All one way inflatable valves are large and it can be inflated in about 10 min and deflated and rolled up in less than 5. There are much less expensive kayaks with polykrylar hulls but if you plan to WW with an inflatable you would want the much tougher denier material. Weight on the 340X without seats attached is 36lbs. Capacity is 600lbs. It can be used as a one or two man boat.

[Crane]

BTW, if you want to sell the Torrent, I might know someone who'd be interested... Crane 501-9nine3-3six45